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Mr.Soludo returns with stunning statements on EPAs

In March, the CTA Brussels Office reported on some of the statements made by the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, regarding the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). According to an opinion article published in the Financial Times, Professor Soludo continues to warn of the detrimental outcomes of the EPAs for Africa, and states that the country “is in trouble”. Soludo compares the EPAs with the 1884-85 Berlin Conference “that divided the continent among the great powers”. As in his review on the WTO vis-à-vis Least Developed Countries (LDCs), he stresses that the former does not call for a further liberalisation of LDCs, he thinks that the EU´s approach accordingly is “is harmful and unnecessary”. Just as before, Soludo reiterates his distrust of the EU´s argument on WTO rules alignment to “excuse” EPAs, and thereby the development of full reciprocity.As his criticism also points to EU Aid for Trade (AfT) he calls for sincerity between Africa and Europe, and concludes by recalling the decreasing EU presence on the continent, notably from the nineties.